Question: A square with side length $p$ has an area of $169$ square centimeters. The following equation shows the area of the square. $p^2 = 169$ What is the side length of the square in centimeters?
Explanation: Let's solve for $p$. Remember that it is not possible to have a negative side length! $ $ $\begin{aligned} p^2 &= 169\\ \\ \sqrt{p^2} &= \sqrt{169}\\ \\ p&= 13 \end{aligned}$ The side length of the square is $13 \text{ cm}$.